Well it's almost showtime for England. There is still the potential for something to go wrong, however, and it will be at the back of the players' minds that they could be the next to pick up an injury that rules them out of Euro 2012, or Monday's game against France at the very least. Those who claim they are not worried about this are lying.

My first tournament with England was Euro 96. It was a fantastic experience and I savoured every moment, even if that involved just watching the more experienced guys in training. For me, at that stage in my career, it was enough to witness first-hand David Seaman's coolness under pressure, Tony Adams's rallying cries, Paul Ince's limitless energy levels and the sublime skills of Paul Gascoigne. The cherry on the cake was seeing up close the telepathic partnership between Teddy Sheringham and Alan Shearer.

I came on as a substitute in our 2-0 win against Scotland and there was then talk of me starting against Spain in the quarter-finals as it was touch and go as to whether Adams would be fit enough to play. Taking part in such a big game made me feel nervous but also secretly excited. I was a bit disappointed, then, when Tony proved his fitness prior to kick-off.

There is no doubt some of the younger players in the current England squad will be feeling excited by the prospect of being involved at Euro 2012, but equally a few will be fearful of having to take part in such a high-pressure environment. This is something they will have to master quickly, however, if they are to progress in international football.

There is nothing wrong with nerves, but it is about balance. Players need to stay relaxed and focused and there are different ways of achieving this, whether it be playing a round of golf, shopping or spending time with the family. My routine normally involved going for a coffee or taking a look around the city we were staying in.

Perhaps the most nerves I ever witnessed in an England squad was at Euro 2000. I was an established member of the squad by then but was still keen to take advice from the more senior members of the team. Looking at them, however, I could see they were very agitated about the games to come so I left them alone and got on with playing to the best of my abilities. The tournament was a disaster for us. We lost our opening game against Portugal, beat Germany 1-0 then lost to Romania when we only needed a draw to progress to the knockout stages. Coming home so soon is not a pleasant experience – you feel lost and empty and end up trying to avoid contact with as many people as possible. I know some players booked holidays as soon as they got back to their hotel after the Romania game to ensure they would not have to deal with the fierce light of the British media.

Euro 2004 was a slightly more happy experience and one of my most vivid memories of it all was of Ledley King coming in for John Terry prior to the opening game against France. Ledley was raw, like I had been at Euro 96, and it was probably the most pressurised game he had played in at that stage of his career. I knew it would be my duty to guide him into the correct positions and encourage him throughout the 90 minutes. I had to be unselfish for the sake of my younger, less-experienced team-mate. We lost 2-1 but Ledley put in an excellent performance and I'm sure the experience of being involved in such a match helped him grow as a footballer.

He would have learnt from the experience of losing, too, something all players have to go through. At major tournaments it can be something that management tries to control and it was sometimes the case during my time with England that newspapers would be banned from the team hotel the morning after a loss to keep the mood of the squad up. My attitude was different as I always used a tough moment as motivation to do better next time.

The more tournaments I played in the more I became a focus point for players who wanted advice about how to cope with the pressure of representing England. Every squad needs guys like that and so it is a blow Roy Hodgson lost influential figures such as Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard prior to flying out to Poland. The squad is filled with inexperienced performers and so there is greater pressure on the seasoned players to guide those around them.

Don't get me wrong, you need young players coming through and being exposed to tournament football, but it is best for their development to be surrounded by as many team-mates as possible who have done it all before. It is also better for the team to have experience on the pitch. England will have to make do in the weeks to come.